Walk On
by BringingXCBack
Summary: Future MerDer. Just like REM, They're "Shiny Happy People", and they have a family.
1. Meet The Family

**I've had this sitting around for a while on my desktop...I've decided that the year is 2011, and Christopher was born in mid June. **

Meredith looked down at the tiny baby in her arms and smiled as she felt Derek's arm wrap around her. It had taken them almost nine months to get to the place they were now: holding their newborn son.

"I can't believe he doesn't have a full head of your dark hair. It's almost a letdown." Said Meredith, looking up at Derek.

"He has nice hair. It's just…not the hair I imagined he'd have." Said Derek, laughing, as he ran a hand over his son's thin, light colored hair.

"He is absolutely perfect, though. Even with out your hair." Whispered Meredith, as she pressed a soft kiss to the baby's forehead. The little boy's eyes opened and he looked up expectantly at Meredith. He opened his mouth, and made a soft sound.

"I love you, too, Christopher." Said Meredith, smiling widely at the baby. There was a knock at the door, and then Cristina entered.

"I walked by the nursery and didn't see him, so I figured he was here with you. He's gorgeous. Congratulations, both of you." Said Cristina, looking down at the little baby.

"Thank you." Said Meredith and Derek, together.

"He doesn't have the hair." Said Cristina, laughing as she ran a pinkie over the baby's soft cheek.

"It's disappointing, isn't it?" said Derek, laughing.

"I know. With you as a father, you'd think the kid would at least have perfect hair." Said Cristina, her laughter dying as her eyes focused on the baby in Meredith's arms.

"I know I didn't ask you sooner, but would you like to hold your godson?" asked Meredith, lifting the little boy off of her chest, and into Cristina's arms.

"Godson?" asked Cristina, her eyes lighting up.

"Yes. We want you to be his godmother. What do you say, Cristina?" asked Derek, smiling as Cristina expertly supported his son's head as she rocked him softly.

"I'd love to." Said Cristina, smiling.

"I can't believe you said yes." Said Meredith, amused at the fact that Cristina was excited about being a godmother.

"He's just—And I really—I don't know. I don't normally like kids, especially babies, but your kid is different—he's—you never told me his name." said Cristina, as she looked up at Meredith.

"Christopher Joseph Grey-Shepherd." Said Derek, placing his hand on Meredith's shoulder.

_______________________

Meredith sat down on the bench in the resident's locker-room, and rested her head in her hands. It had been a long day, and all she wanted to do was to go home and take a nice long nap with her baby boy, but she was on-call. Meredith sighed, and stood up, and walked over to her locker. She opened it and pulled out a small album. On the front was a small handprint, her son's from the day her son was born. Meredith placed her hand over the handprint, and then opened the album. The first picture was taken moments after Christopher had been born. She was holding him, and he was wailing loudly. Music to her ears, Meredith thought. She continued to flip through the dozens of pictures that she and Derek had taken over the last six months since they officially became parents. Meredith was so absorbed in the album, that she didn't hear the door open behind her.

Derek entered the resident's locker-room carrying his sleeping son, and saw Meredith sitting on the bench, pouring over one of their baby's albums. He walked over to her, careful not to make a sound. Once he was right behind her, he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. Meredith immediately slammed the book closed and turned around, annoyance evident on her face. As soon as she registered that it was just Derek and Christopher, she smiled. She kissed Derek again, and then bent down to kiss her little boy.

"You look tired, Mer." Said Derek, running his thumb over her cheek.

"I am exhausted, but only ten more hours." She replied, looking at her watch.

"I know. And then we are off for a week to go to New York. It's going to be Christopher's first Christmas." Said Derek, handing the baby to Meredith.

"Our first Christmas with our little boy." Said Meredith, pressing a soft kiss to Christopher's forehead.

"Are you feeling any better since this morning, Mer?" asked Derek, getting up to sit on the bench beside her. He placed a warm hand on the small of her back, and looked directly into her eyes.

"Much better, especially now that I get to spend time with my boys." Said Meredith, as Derek kissed her on her cheek.

"So, I was thinking that maybe while we're in New York, you might be willing to let me coax you into leaving Chris with Anna or Kathy so that we could have a day just to ourselves." Said Derek, looking nervous. He knew how difficult it was for her to part with Christopher for long periods of time. He seriously doubted that she would have agreed to go back to work had Seattle Grace not had a daycare. She spent every free minute in the daycare with her little boy.

"I think that would be okay. What did you have in mind for the day?" asked Meredith, smiling.

"Well, you've only been to New York with me twice, and I never gave you the Derek Shepherd tour of the city." Said Derek, running his thumb over Christopher's hair.

"That would be lovely, Dr. Shepherd." Said Meredith, kissing Derek softly. She then rested her head on Derek's shoulder, and closed her eyes, only to be awakened by her pager moments later. She looked down and saw that it was the ER.

"I've got to go. It's the ER. Thank you for coming, and bringing him. It means a lot to me." Said Meredith, as she handed the baby back to Derek.

"No problem, Mer. Remember, only ten hours, and then you're officially on vacation." Said Derek, giving her a quick kiss as she slid the album back into her locker.

"I know. I'll see you when I get home." Said Meredith, slipping her lab coat back on.

"I'll be waiting." Said Derek, standing up.

"Bye, baby. I love you." Said Meredith, giving a quick kiss to Christopher. She then looked up at Derek.

"Bye, Derek. I love you, too." She said, giving him a kiss as well, before she headed for the door.

"Bye Mer. I love you." He said, as she slipped out the door.

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Eleven hours later, Meredith looked at the clock and sighed. It was a little after eight in the morning, and she was only just getting to the locker-room. It had been a long overnight shift, and she had felt a little under the weather in the morning. As she slid her lab coat into her locking, she felt a wave of nausea hit her. She ran over to the trashcan quickly, and emptied her stomach. She sighed, and then walked over to her locker, and changed into her street clothes, and threw her jacket on. She grabbed her tote, and then walked out of the locker-room, exhausted, but excited to have a little over a week's vacation time to spend with her family.

_______________________________________

Meredith pulled into the garage, and then entered the house. The smell of pancakes hit her as she walked into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Derek leaning over the stove, cooking.

"Are you making me breakfast?" she asked, as Derek turned around to face her.

"Of course." He said, walking over to kiss her.

"It smells delicious." She said, as Derek gave her a second kiss.

"Of course it does. The pancakes will be done in about five minutes." He said, turning back to the stove.

"Okay." Said Meredith, walking into the living room, where her son lay on a blanket on the floor, sleeping soundly. She knelt down beside him, and scooped him into her arms. Almost immediately, the little boy opened his bright blue eyes and looked directly at Meredith.

"Hi, baby! Mommy missed you." She said, pressing a soft kiss to his feathery blond hair. Christopher smiled and reached up for Meredith's face.

"Mamamama." He babbled, pulling Meredith's finger into his mouth.

"Yeah, Chris, it's Mamama." She said, giving him another kiss. She stood up; Christopher balanced carefully in her arms, she walked into the kitchen.

"Did you feed Chris yet?" she asked, opening the refrigerator.

"No. I was going to wait until he woke up." Said Derek, picking up two plates of pancakes.

"Okay. I'll feed him, then." She said happily, taking a bottle of milk, and a jar of banana baby food over to the table, along with a baby spoon. She placed Christopher in the highchair, and secured a bib around his neck. She skillfully opened the baby food, and took a spoonful out, and slid it into Christopher's mouth, catching the excess puree, and sticking it in the baby's mouth again for a second mouthful.

"Mer, eat. I'll feed him." Said Derek, giving her a kiss on her cheek. Meredith looked from Derek to Christopher, and then down at her food. It had been over twelve hours since she'd eaten anything.

"Okay." Said Meredith, handing Derek the spoon and the food.

"You're all packed, right?" asked Derek, spooning more banana puree into Christopher's mouth.

"Yes. And our flight is at one, right?" asked Meredith, swallowing a bite of pancake.

"Yeah. So we'll have to leave here around ten." Said Derek.

"I plan on sleeping the whole flight." Said Meredith, devouring her pancakes.

"I think that's what Chris plans on doing, too. I'll bring along a couple crosswords and maybe a journal or two." Said Derek, as Meredith shoveled another mouthful of pancake into her mouth. Meredith smiled, and then reached into the center of the table, and grabbed the day's newspaper. She the opened it up, and began reading, taking her mug of coffee into her hands.

____________________________________

Meredith had never felt so airsick in her entire life. Instead of sleeping like she had hoped, she was stuck in an endless loop between her seat and the bathroom. At the moment, however, Meredith was in her seat, resting her head on Derek's chest. He was holding her tightly, rubbing her back in circles, softly.

"Feeling any better, Mer?" he asked, as she relaxed into his arms.

"A little, yeah." She said, listening to his heartbeat and even breathing.

"You must have caught a nasty bug. It's been a while since I've seen you this sick, Mer. Not since early in your pregnancy with Chris." Said Derek, pressing a soft kiss to Meredith's hair.

"You're right…Derek?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Mer? Are you going to be sick again?" he asked, looking nervously at his wife.

"I don't think so." She said, her eyes meeting Derek's.

"Is something wrong, Mer?" he asked rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"What you said a second ago, about me not being sick like this since I was pregnant with Chris. Do you think that maybe I'm pregnant again?" asked Meredith, fear very evident in her voice. Derek smiled, and tilted her chin so that she was looking at him.

"Would that be the worst thing in the world?" asked Derek, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't know. Chris isn't even a year old yet. It seems kind of soon to bring another kid into the mix. But, I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world." Said Meredith, smiling slightly.

________________________________

Christopher was fast asleep when they got into taxi that was to take them to the Shepherd house. Meredith was feeling much better now that they were on solid ground, and was more relaxed after getting five hours of sleep on the second flight. She was, however, still nervous about what Derek had mentioned to her on the plane.

"You're awfully quiet, Mer." Said Derek, kissing her softly as she looked out the window at the city.

"I'm just thinking." She replied, giving Derek a small smile.

"About the baby." He said, resting his hand on her stomach.

"Derek!" she said loudly, knocking his hand away.

"Mer, relax." He said, pulling her into him.

"I'm sorry, it's just that we don't even know if there is a baby. And you're already getting excited, I can see it in your eyes, and I would hate to see you disappointed if it turns out that this is all just a stomach bug." Said Meredith, as Derek ran his hands over her hair.

"I'll tell you what. Tonight, after we get settled in, I'll drop by the store. I'll grab a test, and we'll see what happens. But, I promise you, Mer, whatever the test says, it's okay." He said.

"That sounds—good." Said Meredith, closing her eyes.

________________________________________

Hours later, after they had mingled with all of the Shepherds, and after Derek had run out to the store, Meredith and Derek were sitting on the floor of the bathroom connected to Derek's childhood bedroom. Derek's bedroom was their home for week.

"Has it been five minutes, yet?" asked Meredith, as Derek held her tightly.

"Almost, Mer." Said Derek, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. Meredith sighed, and looked down at Derek's watch for the next minute and a half. As soon as she was sure it had been five minutes, she jumped up, and then sank back down.

"You'll look with me, won't you?" she asked, reaching for his hand. Derek nodded, and stood up, helping her up with him. Together, they walked over to the counter. Meredith looked away as Derek pulled the stick out of the container; it was positive. She wasn't looking when Derek's mouth turned up in a huge grin. He set the test back down, and picked her up and spun her once, and before pressing a deep, passionate kiss to her lips. He then placed his hands on her stomach.

"I take it we're having a baby." Said Meredith, a note of excitement in her voice.

"You have that right." Said Derek, laughing as he carried her into the bedroom, and placed her down on the bed.

"And you are excited." Said Meredith, in a statement, not a question.

"Of course, Mer. You know I love kids. I just hope that this time we get a little girl." He said, resting his hand over her stomach.

"A little girl with your hair." Said Meredith, smiling.

"A little girl with your eyes." Said Derek, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He stood up and walked into the bathroom. He emptied the container and threw it out, and wrapped the test up and placed it in his suitcase, before shutting the bathroom light, and then overhead bedroom lights.

"You must be exhausted, Mer." He said, lying down next to her.

"I am. But I am excited, too." She said, as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands protectively over her stomach.

_____________________________________

Derek had his face plastered to the glass surrounding the nursery, staring directly at the little baby in the front left corner. Katharine Elizabeth Grey-Shepherd, he read, smiling as his little girl slept. Meredith leaned into him, and felt his arms wrap around her, and his lips press into her hair.

"She's gorgeous, Mer." He said, smiling widely.

"I know. And she has your hair." Said Meredith, laughing softly.

"And your eyes." Said Derek, watching as a nurse walked over to his daughter, and began to wheel the incubator towards the door. Both Meredith and Derek walked over, excited at the prospect of being with their little girl. The nurse opened the door, and was face to face with the two.

"I was just going to wheel her over to your room." Said the nurse, as she wheeled the baby out into the hallway and towards Meredith's room, with Meredith and Derek closely in tow. Derek helped Meredith into her bed, and then looked for the nurse's okay to pick up his little girl.

"I'll be back in a half-hour. Call if you need anything." She said, before ducking out of the room.

"Thank you." Called Derek, eyes glued to his little girl. He rocked her for a few moments before turning to Meredith.

"Would you like to hold our little girl?" he asked her, pressing a soft kiss to Katharine's hair. Meredith nodded, and received the little girl carefully in her arms.

"She's so perfect." Said Meredith, as she held tightly to the tiny baby. She wanted very much to share this moment with her little boy.

"Derek?" she said, softly, as to not wake the tiny baby.

"Yeah, Mer?" he replied, equally quiet.

"Can you call Cris? I want my little boy to be here for this." Said Meredith, smiling.

"Are you sure you're up to that?" asked Derek, unsure that having his 14 month old son up at the hospital was a good idea.

"Derek, he's my little boy. Of course I'm sure." Said Meredith. It had been nearly 30 hours since she'd last seen her son.

"All right. I'll call Cristina." He said, excusing himself from the room.

"It's just you and me now, Katie." Said Meredith, as she rocked the baby gently.

"You have the greatest older brother. He's lovely, and he's very handsome. His name is Christopher, but your daddy and I call him Chris most of the time. Unless, of course, Mommy's friend Cristina is with us, in which case we have to call your brother Christopher because Cristina has dibs on Cris. But Christopher is going to take such good care of you. He's Mommy's little boy, yes he is, and you are Mommy's little princess." Whispered Meredith, as she waited for Derek to come back into the room. As soon as he did, she felt him slide onto the bed next to her.

"So, I called Cristina. She says that she and Hunt will have him up here in five minutes. They also say that they are going to expect to see our little girl." Said Derek, giving Meredith a quick kiss.

"Our little girl." Said Meredith, smiling.

**Should I continue, or leave it at this? **


	2. Julia

**Six months later…. February 2013. As a side note, I decided that Meredith ended her internship in July 2007, so she is a seventh year resident now. **

Meredith was walking in the hospital, her twenty-month-old son at her side, and her six-month-old baby in her arms. It had been a late night for her, and an early morning for Derek, leaving her to get the kids ready all by herself, something she wasn't very excited to do. Now that they were at the hospital, however, Meredith wished that she could have spent a little more time with the kids at home.

"Mommy, my soo's untie." Said Christopher, holding up his right foot as they reached the elevator on the main floor.

"Can you wait until we get upstairs, Chris? You can press the up button." asked Meredith, as Kate reached up and pulled on Meredith's hair. Christopher did as he was told, and then stepped back and grabbed Meredith's jacket. As the doors opened, Meredith nudged Christopher in, and then got in behind him.

"We see daddy?" asked Christopher, looking up at Meredith, his blond curls hanging around his head in an untamed mess, much like his fathers, but still looking good.

"Maybe, Chris. You know Daddy's working." Said Meredith, as Kate's eyes locked with hers.

"Dada?" asked Kate, her eyes growing with excitement.

"No Dada, Katie." Said Meredith, shaking her head.

"See's so silly." Said Christopher, laughing as his little sister mimicked Meredith and shook her head softly.

"She is silly." Said Meredith, kissing the baby on her beautiful dark brown hair.

"We see Cwistina?" asked Christopher, as the door opened.

"Maybe, baby, we'll see who's here. We can go to Mommy's locker room before daycare if you want." Said Meredith, as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Yeah." Said Christopher, holding onto Meredith's bag as they walked into the hall, and over to the nurse's station.

"Dr. Shepherd." Said a man, one of Meredith's young patients father's, Mr. McMullen.

"Mr. McMullen. How's Andy looking? I'll be in to see him in about a half hour." asked Meredith, smiling as Christopher reached for her hand.

"He's great. Woke up smiling. Are these your little helpers?" asked Mr. McMullen, waving to Christopher.

"Yes they are. This is Kate, she's about six months old, and this is my son, Christopher. He's almost two. Can you say hello to Mr. McMullen, Chris?" asked Meredith.

"Hewo." Said Christopher, holding out his hand, which Mr. McMullen shook.

"He's a very bright little boy." Said Mr. McMullen, smiling at Meredith.

"Thank you." She replied, as Christopher replaced his hand in hers.

"It was nice to meet you, young man." Said Mr. McMullen.

"You, too." Said Christopher, waving as he and Meredith walked down the hall towards the locker room.

"Mommy, I wike Missa Mihmullen." Said Christopher, as Meredith held the locker room door open for him.

"I like Mr. McMullen, too." Said Meredith, as she set Kate down on the floor. As soon as she had her bag in her locker, and her coat off, Cristina and Alex walked into the locker room.

"Cwistina!" shouted Christopher, running to Cristina as she walked into the locker room.

"Christopher!" said Cristina, scooping the little boy up in her arms. Cristina carried Christopher with her over to her locker; the two were absorbed in conversation.

"How's it going, Mer?" asked Alex, as he picked Kate up off the floor.

"It's going good, actually. Katie sleeps the whole night every night, and she's eating solid food, and the best news yet: Chris is out of diapers. Derek and I have officially potty trained him." Said Meredith, slipping her scrubs on as Alex blew kisses onto Kate's stomach, causing her to erupt in giggles.

"That's great, Mer." He said, as Meredith traded her flats for a pair of sneakers.

"I know, isn't it?" She said, smiling.

"So, Mer, Iz and I were thinking about going out tomorrow night, and our sitter bailed. Do you think you and Derek could watch Julia tomorrow night?" asked Alex, referring to his three-year-old daughter.

"I think that'd be fine. Tell Iz that we're just planning on pasta for dinner, and then a movie at home. We can keep Julia the night, too, if you send pajamas, and then I can bring her to work with Chris and Kate the next morning." Said Meredith, smiling as she slipped her ID badge over her head.

"Thanks, Mer." Said Alex, handing the baby back to Meredith.

"How is Julia doing?" asked Meredith, setting the baby again on the floor, so that both she and Alex could finish getting ready.

"You know how it is with stomach virus's, Mer. She was sick for two days, all she did was vomit, Iz even brought her in to the clinic for some saline, but now she's back and better than ever." Said Alex, as he got into his scrubs.

"Yeah, Chris had that about a month ago. It was awful. Of course, Derek and I aren't Izzie, so he didn't get saline, but he did have tons and tons of Gatorade. I'm glad Julia is better, though." Said Meredith, as she picked Kate up off of the floor.

"Yeah, me too." Said Alex, smiling.

"Christopher, it's time for daycare." Said Meredith, turning to Christina and her son, smiling as she saw then sitting on the bench, talking.

"Five mowh minutes?" asked Christopher, sticking his bottom lip out.

"How about I take you to daycare with your Mommy?" said Cristina, standing up, and sweeping the little boy onto her shoulders.

"Yes!" shouted Christopher, hugging tightly to Cristina's head.

"Bye, Alex. See you on the floor." Said Meredith, smiling as she carried her daughter out the door behind Cristina and Christopher.

__________________________________________________

Izzie rang the doorbell, and looked over at her husband who was holding their little girl, Julia, with her platinum blond hair tied neatly back in a prefect French braid. Derek was the one to answer the door for them.

"Come on in, guys." Said Derek, leading them into the foyer. Meredith heard the commotion, and walked in, carrying Kate.

"Hey Izzie, Alex, Miss. Julia." Said Meredith, smiling as she walked over.

"Thanks again for doing this." Said Alex, clapping Derek on the shoulder.

"It's no problem. We love spending time with Julia." He said, taking the girl from Alex and tickling her, causing the little girl to giggle.

"Okay, well, I'll leave Julia's bag here. It has her clothes for the morning, and her blanket, and Scooter, her puppy, and her toiletries, and I guess we'll get going." Said Alex, taking the bag off of his shoulder, and setting it on the floor by the stairs.

"That's fine. Have fun, you two." Said Meredith, smiling.

"Bye, Julia." Said Alex, picking his little girl up and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Be a good girl for Meredith and Derek, Jules." Said Izzie, as she gave the girl a kiss on her hair.

"I promise. Bye Mommy, bye Daddy." Said Julia, as Alex set her down.

"Okay. Goodbye. Mer, you know how to reach us." Said Alex, as he opened the door for Izzie, and followed her out.

As soon as the door shut, Meredith turned to Julia.

"Now we can really have fun, Jules." Said Meredith, smiling. Julia beamed and nodded.

"Can we go find Christopher?" asked Julia, reaching for Derek's hand.

"Of course." Said Derek, leading her up the stairs, with Meredith and Kate trailing behind.

"Christopher!" shouted Julia, running to give the boy a hug as soon as she saw him in his room.

"Jooia." Said Christopher, smiling as the girl wrapped her arms around him.

The evening with Julia was a pleasant one for all. First they had Penne with Marinara sauce, Julia's favorite. Then they watched Brother Bear, Christopher's favorite movie, but neither Julia and Christopher, nor Kate for that matter, stayed awake until the end of the movie. Derek carried Christopher upstairs and placed him on his bed, and tucked him in, and then went down to get Julia, whom he placed on the air mattress in Christopher's room, along with her blanket and Scooter. Then together, Meredith and Derek went down to get their daughter, who woke up as soon as Meredith picked her up. Once in the nursery, Meredith sat down in the rocking chair, and breast-fed the baby, while singing her a soft song. Derek smiled and watched as he straightened the baby's crib, picked up clothing off of the floor, and then grabbed her blue footie pajamas.

Meredith handed him Kate to burp, and then watched on as he changed her diaper, and then her outfit. He handed her back a changed baby, and watched as she rocked Kate to sleep, and sang a lullaby at the same time. Within ten minutes, Kate was fast asleep. He then took her from Meredith, and walked over to the crib with her, and placed her into the crib, and smiled as Meredith pulled the blanket up over the baby's torso. They stood and watched the baby for five minutes, taking comfort in the rise and fall of her chest.


	3. Just Like Doc

Derek was running out of his office, excited to be heading to the daycare to pick up his kids for the evening. He figured that because Meredith was on-call, she would be home late, so he was anticipating a quiet evening in. His pace quickened as he thought about reading with his little boy, or dancing with his little girl. He stepped up to the desk at the daycare, and was surprised when the daycare employee told him that his wife had already picked up their kids. Derek shook his head, disappointed, and walked out to his car, a little bit of a sulk in his step. He loved the feeling of Christopher running to him, and seeing Kate smile when he held her for the first time in hours.

The drive home was quiet for Derek. He liked having Christopher chatter on about his day, or hear his little girl coo and babble. Now, it would seem, all he had was the radio. And that just wasn't the same as hearing his son recall a recent trip to the zoo, or listening to his daughter utter a word for the first time. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, he saw that his house was dark. Derek thought that that was odd, and worriedly, he got out of his car, and ran to the front door. It was that second that his phone rang.

"Derek?" asked Meredith, quietly. Derek felt his heart rate quicken.

"Meredith, where are you?" asked Derek, nervously.

"We made a detour on our way home." Said Meredith, vaguely.

"And where, may I ask, did you make this detour to?" asked Derek.

"The animal shelter." Said Meredith, waiting to hear Derek yell.

"The animal shelter." Said Derek, repeating the phrase to himself.

"Christopher and I were talking, and he told me that he would really like a dog." Said Meredith, glad that Derek was being calm.

"Oh, really. And how did he phrase this want?" asked Derek, curious.

"I think it was something along the lines of ' Mommy, tan we det a puppy?'" said Meredith.

"And you just said yes? You didn't even think to ask me?" asked Derek, sounding exasperated.

"We didn't get a dog, Derek. We just looked, and now we're on our way home. I just thought I'd tell you that your son would like very much to have a dog, and that I am not opposed to the idea." Said Meredith, as she continued to drive.

"Good to know." Said Derek, unlocking the front door and stepping inside. He turned on the lights, and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm hanging up now, so, bye. I love you." Said Meredith.

"I love you, too." Said Derek, hanging up the phone at the very same time as Meredith. He set his cell phone down on the counter, and opened the refrigerator door, pausing to decide what he wanted. He pulled out an already opened jar of marinara sauce, and set it on the counter. Closing the refrigerator, he walked over to the cabinet, and grabbed the box of spaghetti. He got out a large pot, filled it with water, and began to boil water.

He was straining the noodles when Meredith walked into the house with Kate in her arms, and Christopher at her side.

"Daddy!" shrieked Christopher, running to Derek. Derek set the strainer in the sink, and opened his arms to receive the little boy.

"Christopher." Said Derek, enveloping his son is his arms. He smiled as Meredith walked into the kitchen. She had Kate balanced carefully in her arms, and was whispering something into the little girl's ear. Derek walked over to Meredith and Kate, still carrying Christopher.

"Let me down, Daddy!" said Christopher, wriggling to get down. Derek obliged, and watched as Christopher went running up to his bedroom.

"So, no puppy." Said Derek, closing the space between him and his wife.

"No puppy." Said Meredith, as Derek wrapped his arms around his girls, and pressed a soft kiss to Meredith's lips, and then one to his daughter's dark hair.

"So, what happened to being on-call tonight?" asked Derek, taking the baby from Meredith.

"I traded with Izzie so that she could go to Disneyworld with Alex and Julia last month, remember?" asked Meredith, walking over to the sink to take the spaghetti out and place it in the bowl on the counter. She then took the sauce from the pan on the stove, and poured it over the top of the pasta. Finally, she splashed some olive oil onto the pasta.

"I'm glad you weren't on-call tonight." Said Derek, strapping the baby into her high chair.

"Me, too." Said Meredith, taking the bowl over to the dinner table.

"I'll go get Chris." Said Derek, heading out of the room and up the stairs. He came down two minutes later with Christopher at his side.

"Spahetti!" shrieked Christopher, excited at the prospect of having spaghetti for dinner.

"Are you hungry, Chris?" asked Meredith, picking her son up to place him on his booster seat.

"Yes!" shouted the little boy, as Meredith spooned some pasta onto his plate.

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The next morning as a Saturday, one of the few Saturdays that both Meredith and Derek both had off; and they planned on spending the whole day relaxing with their children. Meredith had awoken to the smell of French toast and bacon, and had enjoyed a wonderful breakfast with her family, courtesy of Derek. They had then chased Christopher around the house, trying to get him to get dressed. In the end, Christopher was fully clothed in a navy long-sleeved shirt, along with a pair of beige cargo shorts, and a leather belt. He had on navy moccasins on as well. Kate they dressed in a deep rose smocked, footie coveralls. All together, Meredith and Derek had very attractive children.

After they spent the morning in the house, Christopher was getting antsy.

"Daddy, we get puppy?" asked Christopher, pulling on Derek's sweater.

"Let me talk to Mommy for a little while, Chris." Said Derek, sweeping the little boy up in his arms. Derek carried Christopher over to the living room, and sat him down on the floor next to his younger sister.

"Can you do Daddy a big favor and play with Katie for a few minutes?" asked Derek, as he walked towards the library, where Meredith was working on some paperwork.

"Yes, Daddy." Said Christopher, giving Kate a sloppy kiss. Kate smiled and clapped her hands.

"Thanks, buddy." Said Derek, as he knocked on the door to the library, before entering.

"Take a break, Mer." Said Derek, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Okay." Said Meredith, turning around and kissing Derek deeply on the lips.

"Meredith, we need to talk about the dog." Said Derek, stepping back.

"The dog. So there is a dog." She said, smiling. Derek looked at her, exasperated.

"Meredith!" he groaned.

"Okay, okay. I know that there isn't a dog yet, but would it really be so bad. You loved Doc, and I loved Doc. And I know that Chris would love a puppy." Said Meredith.

"I know that he would like it, but I don't know if we have the time for two young kids and a dog. Maybe in a year or two, when Katie's a little bit bigger, we can get a dog." Said Derek, smiling.

"Chris doesn't ask for much, Derek, and I don't ask for much, either. We want a dog, and you know that you do, too. As for the kids, I know you plan on more than two, so a dog is like having a third kid. We can handle it, Derek. We always do." She said, looking directly at Derek.

"I know we do, but Mer, do we really need this stress?" asked Derek, sighing.

"Is that what Doc was to you? Stress?" asked Meredith.

"No. You know he wasn't. Doc was a great dog, but that was before I had kids." Said Derek.

"And we can still handle it now. A dog is good for kids. We can get a nice, calm dog." Said Meredith, trying to sway Derek.

"I suppose. When do you propose we get this dog?" asked Derek.

"Well, we have off today." Said Meredith, honestly.

"All right, then let's go get this dog." Said Derek, smiling.

"What made you change your mind?" asked Meredith.

"I remembered that Doc was the only thing that we shared for a while, and in the end, he kept us together. A dog keeps a family together." Said Derek, kissing Meredith softly.

"It will." Said Meredith, smiling.

"Let's go tell Chris." Said Derek, opening the door to the library. He held it open, as Meredith walked out ahead of him.

"Christopher, guess what?" asked Meredith, as she knelt down next to her children.

"What?" asked Christopher, looking up at her.

"We're going to get a puppy, right now!" said Meredith, scooping the little boy into her arms. She stood up and spun him in her arms, and then stopped and kissed his forehead.

"Puppy!" said Christopher, excited. Derek bent down to pick up their daughter. They each had a child in their arms as they walked out to the car.

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They were led into a room full of puppies at the shelter. Christopher was in Meredith's arms, and he was pointing to every little puppy, his smile contagious. It was the very last cage that made Christopher stop. There was a tiny chocolate lab, a runt, as Derek so politely called it.

"I want dis one." Said Christopher, pointing to the puppy.

"He's very cute." Said Meredith, smiling.

"I guess it's the little lab." Said Derek, to the shelter attendant.

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They brought the dog back home, and had him in their living room. He was almost as big as Kate, but still a very small puppy.

"What are you going to name him, Chris?" asked Meredith, holding Kate in her lap.

"Camelot, just like Arthur, right, Mommy?" asked Christopher, referring to his favorite book, _King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table_, which Meredith read to him often.

"Camelot is a lovely name, Chris." Said Meredith, smiling as the puppy jumped up and licked Christopher's face.

"He's a great dog, Mer, just like Doc." Whispered Derek into Meredith's ear.


End file.
